Numerous forms of sealed cartons have hitherto been provided which effectively protect the contents of the carton until the carton is initially opened. However, once the carton has been opened, it is extremely difficult to provide a tight reclosure for the carton which will insure that the unused portion of the contents will remain protected for use at a later time.
Some of the expedients which have hitherto been employed have included the perforation of the end closure flaps and adjoining areas of the body walls to form reclosable covers. Various forms of reclosable dispensing openings have also been proposed, utilizing plugs and other forms of closures for the dispensing opening. Another approach has been to use pouring spout constructions which assist in the dispensing of the contents as well as provide a closure for the dispensing opening. Generally speaking, such expedients do not provide an effective reclosure which affords adequate protection for the remaining contents.
Where a relatively high degree of protection is required, as where the unused portion of the contents must be protected from the atmosphere, either because the contents are moist and must be prevented from drying out or where the contents are essentially dry but are susceptable to absorption of moisture from the atmosphere, it is customary to provide a liner which will provide the desired degree of moisture-vapor proofness. Where a liner is utilized, it is of course necessary to open the liner, which often results in its mutilation; but even if the liner can be opened without destroying its integrity, carelessness in subsequent folding of the liner often results in an inadequate reclosure. Consequently, even though the packager may take adequate steps to initially protect the contents, the effectiveness of such protection is lost once the carton has been opened.
The present invention seeks to overcome the deficiencies inherent in currently available sealed cartons by providing a carton structure which may be used with or without a liner, the carton having a tapered top closure which may be readily opened to initially dispense the contents and readily reclose to effect a tight reclosure which affords maximum protection for the remainder of the contents.